LATEST STORIES IN OFFBEAT

BUENOS AIRES: Argentinean authorities have rescued a 58-year-old Uruguayan man who had been lost in the Andes mountains since May.Raul Gomez Cincunegui was spotted at the Sardina mountain shelter on Sunday, at an altitude of some 4,500 meters (nearly 15,000 feet) in the Los Patos Sur valley.Police then transferred him by helicopter to a hospital in the eponymous capital of western San Juan province.“It’s a miracle,” San Juan Governor Jose Luis Gioja said.Rawson Hospital chief of operations Victor Olmos said Gomez was recovering in the intensive care unit but was “only dehydrated” and otherwise in good health. He also had signs of malnutrition.Gomez survived feeding on sugar and raisins he had with him, as well as food stored in mountain shelters, according to a police report.“I still cannot believe it. He came here and spoke by phone with his wife, his mother and daughter. He was very excited, though exhausted,” said Gioja.Gomez had been reported missing in May while he traveled by motorcycle from Uruguay to Chile. There, his motorcycle broke down so he decided to cross the Andes on foot.He said he became disoriented after heavy snowfall and was left stranded at an altitude of 4,000 meters.A search for Gomez was called off in July due to heavy snowstorms.Gomez, who has a history of heart and respiratory problems, ventured across the mountain range after crossings for hikers were closed on April 30.His case recalled the Andes flight disaster of 1972, when a charter plane carrying members of the Old Christians rugby team of Uruguay crashed in the Andes.The accident left 29 dead — some due to the crash and others due to an avalanche — and the 16 survivors were rescued alive after spending 72 days stranded in the harsh, high-altitude mountain conditions.Their ordeal was made into film and television shows, including the 1993 feature “Alive.”

What's happening around Saudi Arabia

JEDDAH: A Saudi citizen was killed in shelling fired across the border from Yemen into the southwest of Saudi Arabia on Sunday, local media reported.A shell fell on a house around dawn in Najran province, civil defense department spokesman Ali bin Om...

JEDDAH: Female voters in Al-Ahsa have urged the authorities handling the municipal elections to drop the condition of presenting the national identity card while enrolling themselves in the voters’ list. Some women in Madinah too have appealed for mo...

JEDDAH: After the recent incident of a rat eating from a bowl at a well-known food outlet in a Jeddah mall came to light, residents have called for food hygiene ratings of restaurants and roadside eateries across the city.Although the municipality wo...

JEDDAH: A muezzin (one who recites the Adhaan) of a Riyadh mosque recently sprung a surprise in the Austrian tourist town of Zell am See by his Adhaan after taking permission from members of a musical band.Social media is abuzz with the news and vide...

RIYADH: A Sri Lankan national, who works as a cleaner in the Kingdom, was commended and rewarded by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH) for returning a bag containing gold to its owner.“Prince Sultan bin Salman, president o...

RIYADH: Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Shahriar Alam arrived in Jeddah on Sunday to meet with his Saudi counterpart Nizar Madani on Monday.On arrival at the royal terminal, the minister was received by Director General of the...

RIYADH: A report of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage predicts the rate of growth in job opportunities in the country's tourism sector between 2010 and 2020 will be 10 percent a year as compared to a global growth rate of 2.5 per...

JEDDAH: Two million meningitis vaccines have been distributed among health centers in 20 governorates and provinces across the Kingdom for domestic Haj pilgrims.It is mandatory for all pilgrims to be vaccinated against meningitis and for those coming...

JEDDAH: The Makkah governorate has announced four new road projects linking Makkah and Jeddah. The new roads will facilitate smoother and faster travel between the cities.An estimated 35 million people will benefit from the projects, which will inclu...

JEDDAH: A major disaster is waiting to happen in the fish market of Madinah because of the callous attitude of traders toward handling of gas cylinders. A visit to the market presents a dreadful picture of cylinders kept on top of each other without...

JEDDAH: Information and Culture Minister Adel Al-Toraifi has approved the appointment of Khalid Bo-Ali as editor in chief of the Eastern Province-based Alsharq Arabic newspaper. He was nominated for the post by the board of directors of the newspaper...

JEDDAH: Jamil Farsi, head of the Gold and Jewelry Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), says he expects 3,000 job opportunities to be created for Saudi women in the jewelry design and gold sector across the Kingdom, with ab...

JEDDAH: More than 50 visually challenged people successfully performed Umrah with the help of the Ebsar Foundation for the Visually Impaired and the Ambassadors of Volunteers organization under their program “Umrah for the visually impaired,” which w...

JEDDAH: Although the Ministry of Labor is opening its doors to receive complaints from private sector employees, many Saudi females employed in cosmetic and perfume shops in Madinah are not making complaints about being overworked due to fear of losi...

JEDDAH: Health Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Falih is set to increase the number of beds in all private sector hospitals, as per new implementation regulations adopted this year.The move will help address the problem of delays in public sector projects, as...